Good Morning!

Yesterday was my first day back at work after being in Florida for a week.  Is it just me, or does anyone else ever feel like they need a vacation from vacation to mentally rest and prepare for getting back into the grind?

My first day back at work wasn’t too bad, except for one thing.  I had a headache lingering all day.  I had some medicine with me, and I did take it, but I am always a bit leary about popping a ton of pills in order to feel better.  Unfortunately, the meds didn’t really help and by bedtime the headache was in full swing.  I have a prescription for these headaches that I don’t like to take outside of emergency situations, and last night was one of those instances.

Lately, though, the prescription hasn’t even been working.  So, while I was able to fall asleep, I woke at about midnight with a full blown, horrible headache.  Thankfully, I was able to take another round of medicine to really kick it in the tush.  I was able to fall back asleep, and wake with no head pain.  Whenever I have one of these headaches, even if I get rid of it, I never quite feel 100% the next day.  They really take a lot of out me, and I crave one thing…carbs.  I awoke starving, and rice cakes and peanut butter sounded comforting…so before heading out to teach spin, rice cakes and PB it was.

Now, I am not sure what causes my headaches, but does anyone out there know of any remedies or preventative actions that maybe don’t involve popping a ton of pills??  If so, I would love to hear what you have to recommend or what you have tried in the past!

Now, to the fun stuff…

Florida Recap

While my family was stoked to go to Disney at the beginning of our trip, the real reason that we all traveled down to Florida was to celebrate my younger brother’s graduation from Full Sail University’s film directing program.

On Thursday evening, we were very excited for the entertainment of the night because we were attending a screening of my brother and all of the other Full Sail Film students’ films that they had made throughout their classes.

Before we could enjoy any sort of entertainment, we had some shopping to do…at Sam’s Club and Publix.  Two of my favorite stores!  My brother and his house mate were hosting a cookout after the graduation on Friday, and we needed supplies.

I love Sam’s Club, because there is bound to be a good sample that I want to try, and I am a girl that LOVES samples (and anything else free for that matter!)

Mojito in a bag?? It was pretty tasty as well 😉

As if I didn’t already love Publix, as I was walking down the cereal aisle, I saw this little gem.

Weetabix…I ate those every single day in London, and I haven’t had them since!  If you ever get a chance to try them, I highly recommend!

Full Sail Backlot Tour

After our errands were completed and we had supplies for the cookout, Kenny gave us a tour of Full Sail which has an awesome backlot that looks just like a real little city for all of their movie making!

He showed us around the sets that they used while filming various projects.  One of Kenny’s projects was a cooking show in this little set kitchen!  I guess the whole food-loving thing runs in the family 🙂

He learned how to operate very high-tech and expensive equipment.  Not only did he learn how to use it, but he used this equipment to complete his projects.

Full Sail Grad Fest

After the tour it was time for the Grad Fest, where we had the opportunity to view all of the hard work that Kenny and his classmates had been putting into various films for the past two years.

Of course, they had popcorn for a little snack.

They rolled out the red carpet for these young directors and film-makers and even had a camera crew interviewing them about their experience at Full Sail.  The interviews were projected live on large TVs in the auditorium.  Pretty neat if you ask me!

The movies were amazing.  Some made me laugh, some made me cry, but all in all they were each pretty awesome in it’s own way.

Smokey Bones Dinner

We then headed to Smokey Bones for dinner with all of Kenny’s friends and their families.  The atmosphere was casual, fun, and welcoming.  Perfect for our large and loud group 🙂

I thought it was cute when they brought  out “bone bags” for my brother and grandpa when they both ordered the ribs.

At restaurants like these I always get so overwhelmed because of all of the options on the menu.  I ended up ordering the Nutty Chicken Salad, with shrimp instead of chicken.  I absolutely love salads with the sweet and savory flair going on.  This salad had dark leafy lettuce, candied pecans (such a treat!), goat cheese, strawberries, red onion, and shrimp….yum!

I thought I took a picture, but can’t seem to find it, but someone ordered a GIANT piece of chocolate cake for each of the grads.  Luckily Kenny was a little full and had to pass the plate around to the rest of the family.  Thank goodness he ordered a huge meal before his cake!

Graduation Ceremony

Friday was Kenny’s actual graduation.  It was held in the same location as the Grad Fest on the campus of Full Sail in one of their new buildings.

Because the classes were so small, each student was called to the stage with their name projected behind them like they won a game show!  I thought it was a pretty awesome effect.

We are all so proud of Kenny and his friends for graduating from Full Sail.

I think that one of the great things about Full Sail is that it allows these students to study something abstract like film making, internet marketing, music business, video game design, etc and still obtain a Bachelor’s degree.  It’s a great opportunity for someone who is completely capable of furthering their education, but can’t find the program that they fit into at a “traditional” school.

Graduation Cookout

After the graduation, we all headed back to Kenny’s house to hang out and grill out with Kenny’s friends and some of their families.

My mom picked up burgers for everyone to eat from the grill.  I have never been a person to enjoy red meat, and was about to pick up a fillet of fish at Publix to grill, when I saw a lemon dill salmon burger.  I decided that was a better option for grilling, and I am so glad that I tried it.

Seriously, this burger was so tasty.  I purposely saved half of it for dinner so that I could savor the flavor even longer and eat it twice 🙂

The graduation celebration was a perfect way to end our family vacation before heading up to Ocala and then back to Indiana.

I am so proud of my brother, and I can’t wait to see where the future takes him!